Halloween
There are a number of festivals and practices which are considered traditional in the United States that are not celebrated in Australia. However, thanks to the wonders of the silver screen and cable television, many people in Australia (and indeed the rest of the world) are at least aware of what goes on in the United States. One of the incredibly enjoyable festivals that we miss out on in Australia is Halloween.
I experienced my first Halloween in 2004 in a quiet residential suburb not far from Columbus, Ohio. I was impressed by the effort that many people went to in decking out their houses. I was stunned by the inventiveness of the children’s costumes and the obscene amounts of candy they accumulated. I found myself suspecting some sort of conspiracy involving a consortium of dentists hellbent on perpetuating their incomes by surreptitiously promoting tooth decay. Since then I have accompanied our ten year old Michaela when she goes out trick-or-treating here in Orange County and have seen the joy in her eyes as she scampers from house to house with maximum cuteness, scamming as much candy as possible. Next to Christmas and its presents, Halloween is the next most popular festival for the kids because of all the candy.
Halloween, celebrated on October 31, is based on the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Samhain means “end of the warm season.” It was believed that the veil separating this world from the Otherworld (the realm of the dead), otherwise known as “Summerland,” was thinnest on Samhain, allowing spirits to enter. Ancestors were honoured and evil spirits were banished.
Today, Samhain is celebrated by many Neopagans including Celtic Reconstructionists and Wiccans. While the Celtic Reconstructionists focus on historical accuracy, Wiccans are more flexible and consider Samhain to be one of the eight annual festivals, or “Sabbats,” which make up the Wheel of the Year.
For Christians, Halloween occurs on the eve of All Saints Day (1 November), which in turn is followed by All Souls’ Day (2 November 2). Throughout much of the world, All Saints Day is celebrated by visiting the graves of relatives and offering prayers, flowers and candles. In much of Mexico (as well as in Mexican communities within the United States), on 1 November children and infants are honoured on 1 November, whereas on 2 November deceased adults are honoured (this is the Day of the Dead).
The unifying thread in the pagan and Christian celebrations of Halloween, Samhain, All Saints Day, and Day of the Dead is the potential for contact between the living and spirit entities. For those of us in the pagan community, spirit entities and the spirits of the dead are an everyday part of life. However, for a few days of the year around Halloween time, this facet of pagan life becomes part of the consciousness of mainstream society.
As an illustration of this, on 29 October 2009, Mark & Brian of Southern California’s KLOS-FM radio station, had their Halloween show which was broadcast the following day. Amongst the antics was a mock séance in which they contacted the dead, specifically Michael Jackson and Billy Mays. The segment was very tongue in cheek, but there was a serious undertone to it. While a gifted spirit medium should be able to contact the spirits of the dead at any time, the greatest chance of success would occur at Halloween. Mark & Brian’s huge listening audience found themselves listening to a parody of something that comparatively few of them would ever experience in real life.
There are some vocal Christians who maintain that Halloween is a pagan celebration and that children will be exposed to worshipping pagan gods and even the devil. The Pope recently called Halloween anti-Christian and dangerous. A voice of reason amidst Christian paranoia is Father Augustine Thompson, associate professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia, who asserts that Halloween as celebrated now is primarily Christian with numerous American influences.
So, are children being exposed to a pagan celebration on Halloween? Halloween celebrations have been modified and commercialized to the extent that they bear little if any resemblance to traditional Celtic or contemporary Neopagan (including Wiccan) celebrations. Halloween celebrations are pure fun. On a somewhat related note concerning just how much change commercialization can cause, it can be argued that Christmas is no longer Christian – Santa Claus and reindeers have no scriptural basis, while that of Christmas trees is questionable. The only genuine Christian aspect is the nativity scene.
While I think that exposing mainstream society to Halloween and its pseudo-occult trappings is a good thing, there is a definite problem with stereotyping. I know a lot of witches and not one of them looks like the stereotypical witch as seen during Halloween. Edmund M Kern, Lawrence University witch trial researcher and associate professor of history, as well as author of The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What Our Favorite Hero Teaches Us About Moral Choices, says that today’s depiction bears little, if any, semblance to the historic profile of witches.
Hollywood has a lot to answer for. Witches in movies were stereotyped as the sort of evil hags seen at Halloween, but this has been steadily changing with more realistic portrayals in recent years. As for the special effects, well they sell movies, but are certainly not an accurate representation of the powers of your average real witch. The pervasiveness of witches and witchcraft shows that it is not going away. While discrimination against pagans and witches continues, Halloween is always a good time to come out of the broom closet. Trick or treat?